The central government has issued a notice to Meta regarding the alleged presence of child sexual exploitative and abuse material in paid advertisements on Instagram, according to sources. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology directed Instagram to immediately disable all ads and content that promote or facilitate access to such material. The government also requested a detailed response from Meta within seven days. This action forms part of efforts to curb the circulation of child sexual abuse material online and enforce stricter compliance from digital platforms. The move follows a BBC investigation that identified paid ads on Instagram using terms like rape video and child video, which reportedly linked to Telegram channels selling such material for low prices. The ads had passed the platform’s moderation. A test account created in India received recommendations for sexually suggestive content without searches. After following certain profiles, it encountered ads offering video calls and explicit material, including some depicting children with adults. Around 30 unique ads promoting child abuse material and 20 featuring adult content were identified. Examples included images of apparent 12-year-olds in sexual situations and links to Telegram. Instagram initially stated one ad did not violate standards. After BBC queries, Meta disabled several ads and suspended accounts, later removing more and blocking related URLs. The company noted that no system is perfect and that it reports apparent child exploitation to relevant authorities.
